Examining the effect of economic shocks on the schooling choices of southern farmers†

Paul Lombardi

European Review of Economic History, 2019, vol. 23, issue 2, 214-240

Abstract: Black men born in the Cotton South during the turn of the twentieth century attended school for three and half fewer years relative to their white counterparts. In this article, I examine whether economic fluctuations contributed to blacks receiving 50 percent less schooling than whites. Using US Census data, I find a positive correlation between black school attendance and cotton production. The attendance rates of white children are unaffected by changes in cotton production. Using features of the Southern agricultural economy, I show credit constraints drives the positive correlation between school attendance and cotton production for black households.

Date: 2019
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:ereveh:v:23:y:2019:i:2:p:214-240.

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